Linville Cup 2024: Mentor Coaches Spotlight

A native of Cary, NC and a PKBGT Alum, Riley graduated from the University of Virginia in 2023 with her Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. Riley competed on the Women’s golf team for 5 years and in that time was named a WGCA All-American Scholar five times. She is now continuing her professional golf career as she enters her season year on the Epson Tour.

A native of Newnan, Georgia. Katie received her Undergraduate and Master’s degree in Sport Management and Policy from the University of Georgia. Currently, she serves in the role of Manager of Junior Golf for the Georgia State Golf Association where she handles pre-tournament admin and is in charge of premier events for the GSGA Junior Tour. In her free time, she enjoys watching football and hanging out with friends and family.

Leslie is a PGA Class A member and a seasoned professional tour player. Her journey at the University of North Carolina began as a promising recruit from Antwerp, Belgium. She represented the Tar Heels on the UNC Women’s Golf Team from 2013 to 2017, leading the team in scoring averages for three consecutive years, while completing her undergraduate studies at Kenan-Flagler Business School. Cloots is a player and competitor at her core, playing professionally from 2017 through 2023 on the LPGA Epson Tour and Ladies European Tour. Her focus is now on coaching, but you can still find her playing professionally at select events in the US and Europe.

A native of Cary, North Carolina. She is a proud PKBGT alum and claims that the PKBGT was so formative for her as she developed into a seasoned junior player. She played college golf for five years at Wake Forest University and was blessed with an extra year of eligibility (through Covid) which allowed her to earn a Master’s degree and a National Championship! Now she is working her dream job for NBC Sports and PGA Tour Entertainment as a golf broadcaster and has had the opportunity to travel the world! Her biggest highlight for the year was playing and broadcasting the U.S. Women’s Open in Pebble Beach two days after getting married to her husband Charlie. She loves coaching and being a part of a team and is so excited for such a fun week at the Linville Cup!

Before heading to Blacksburg, Virginia, to play collegiately at Virginia Tech, Jessica was an avid player on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour. While at Virginia Tech, she was able to play for five seasons while earning bachelor’s degrees in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, and Psychology. She was a part of the team’s first win in history, fittingly at Old Dominion’s 2019 Princess Anne Invitational in Virginia Beach. She was also fortunate enough to be named the 2019-2020 Virginia Tech Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She now resides in Norfolk, Virginia, and works at Cypress Point Country Club. Spicer has had a successful amateur career, including wins and top finishes at the regional and national level, and is hopeful to pursue professional golf in the near future.

Sirene grew up near Salt Lake City, Utah and started playing golf with her father, Robert and younger sister, Tess at the age of 10. Sirene had a fruitful junior golf career that led to her college golf career for the San Diego State Aztecs. During her time at SDSU, Sirene had multiple top-10 finishes and one collegiate victory at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown in 2013. After Sirene graduated in 2017, she pursued professional golf from 2017-2020 on the Cactus Tour, WAPT Tour, and Symetra Tour. Sirene currently works for the PGA of America as a Recruiting Specialist and resides in Utah with her husband, Weston.

Laura grew up in Charlotte, NC, and is a 2013 graduate of Furman University. During her time at Furman, Wearn has 12 top-10 finishes. As an Amateur, Laura won the 2010 Carolina’s Women Open as well as the 2011 Women’s Eastern Open. She graduated from Furman with a degree in business administration and is now playing professionally on the LPGA and Epson tours.

Originally from Gastonia, NC, Megan attended UNC-Wilmington where she played golf for the Seahawks all four years. During her time at UNCW, Megan had a Top-10 finish at the CAA Women’s Golf Championship in her Junior Year. Megan graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Criminology and currently works for GOLFFOREVER as the Executive Administrator.

Anna is a native of North Carolina and competed at the NCAA D1 level at the University of Virginia, where she graduated in 2019. Anna has been pursuing professional golf since her graduation and will begin her fourth season on the Epson Tour this upcoming year. She has had three Top-10 finishes so far and was the recipient of the 2023 Epson Community Service Award. Prior to turning professional Anna competed in many PKB events, even securing the PKB Invitational title in 2013. This will be Anna’s third time as a Linville Cup coach!

Sarah grew up in North Carolina and was first introduced to the game of golf by her dad at the age of 7. She, alongside her twin sister, Jessica, quickly fell in love with the game and soon became a regular on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour before playing collegiately at Virginia Tech. Sarah now works as a Data Analyst but still loves the game and enjoys playing or being involved as often as possible.

A graduate of Wake Forest University, Charlene retired after 36 years in commercial banking with Wachovia and First Tennessee banks. Charlene volunteers for the Carolinas Golf Association as a rules official, and she served the USGA as Leaderboards committee chair for the 2019 US Senior Women’s Open and the 2022 US Women’s Open in Pinehurst..

A 3-time PKBGT Champion, Katie attended East Carolina University and played collegiately for the Pirates from 2011-2015. During her time at ECU, she was selected by the LPGA Foundation as the 2015 Dinah Shore Trophy recipient. In addition, Katie holds the PKBGT Invitational two-day scoring record from her win in 2011 with a 2 day total of 5-under (66-71). Katie is currently the Business Intelligence Director for Consumer & Small Business Banking at Truist. She continues to play amateur golf and has qualified for 8 USGA Championships. Katie has been a Linville Cup coach every year since the inaugural event and has helped lead her team to the championship match six times in the tournament’s history.